Mum 'incredibly lucky' after tree crushes her car

Natalie Bowler said there was "glass everywhere" after the tree fell on to her car

A mother of two has said she was "incredibly lucky" not to have been seriously hurt after a tree fell on her car while she was driving during Storm Claudia.

Natalie Bowler was travelling along the A6, near Matlock Bath in Derbyshire, on Friday at about 21:00 GMT when the tree dropped on to her vehicle.

The 25-year-old said paramedics picked glass out of her hands and from her face, and told her she was fortunate there were no passengers in the car and that she was not "a couple of inches to the left".

On Sunday, Derbyshire County Council closed the A6 after the junction with Cromford towards Matlock Bath for a week due to the unsafe condition of 100 trees along the road.

Ms Bowler said she did not see the tree coming

Ms Bowler, from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, said she was heading towards Matlock Bath to pick up a friend when the incident happened.

"Because you are looking and don't see anything, the initial reaction is obviously panic," she said.

"I managed to keep control of my car and stop it and then all of a sudden I couldn't breathe."

She said she was "hurting all over" and had not been able to sleep properly since Friday.

Ms Bowler says she has bruises "all over" and is still in pain

Ms Bowler said a woman came running over to her aid and stopped her from "falling to the floor".

"I said: 'What did I hit, I didn't see anything there?'

"She said: 'No, duck, the tree has just fallen on top of your car, I just watched it drop straight on top of you'," she added.

Chris Henning, executive director of the county council, said that after two trees fell during the storm, "many more" were "at risk of coming down".

He said emergency work on the road was "absolutely necessary".

Contractors are working 24 hours a day to make the trees on the side of the A6 safe, the county council says

Charlotte Hill, cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said the authority was aware of what had happened to Ms Bowler, and sent her best wishes.

"We hope that the lady involved is making a good recovery, it must have been such a shock for her," Hill said.

Trent Barton said the little sixes bus service running between Middleton and Matlock had been suspended until the A6 reopened.

The 6.1 service is not serving Matlock Bath because there is nowhere for the buses to safely turn around.

The Transpeak service is also not serving Whatstandwell, Cromford and Matlock Bath until Sunday.

Stagecoach will stop the X17 service in Matlock, but will run a "limited" 158 service from Matlock to Matlock Bath, turning in the railway station car park, the council said.